CARBONDALE, Ill. (Interstat) — Michael Mylott homered and drove in three runs, leading Southern Illinois to a 13-3 victory over Valparaiso on Saturday afternoon at Abe Martin Field.

The Salukis, who improved to 23-30 overall and won two of three in the Missouri Valley Conference series, erupted for 14 hits and took control after erasing an early three-run deficit. Valparaiso fell to 12-37.

Valparaiso struck first in the top of the first inning. M. Kuska singled through the left side, E. Riley singled to right center, and Thomas Cooper doubled to left center, driving in both runners for a 3-0 lead. The Beacons had three hits in the inning but left two runners on base.

Southern Illinois answered immediately in the bottom half. Kristian Sprawling doubled down the right field line, Kye Watson was hit by a pitch, and Mylott doubled to right center, scoring both to cut the lead to 3-2. After a walk to Jacob McKenzie and a foul out, Tim Simay reached on a fielding error by the first baseman, allowing Mylott to score and tying the game. Gabe Petrucelli followed with a sacrifice fly to left, scoring McKenzie for a 4-3 lead. All four runs in the inning were unearned.

The Salukis extended their lead in the third inning. Mylott led off with a solo home run to left field, his second hit of the game, making it 5-3. After a walk to McKenzie, Cecil Lofton singled, and Simay reached on a fielder’s choice that scored McKenzie and advanced to second on a throwing error. Petrucelli singled up the middle to drive in Simay, and after a single by Jaden Flores and a stolen base, Mason Schwalbach hit a sacrifice fly. Sprawling added an RBI single, capping a five-run frame that made it 9-3.

Southern Illinois tacked on runs in the seventh and eighth innings. In the seventh, Cecil Lofton doubled and was replaced by pinch runner Bryce Habuda. Simay singled up the middle to drive in Habuda, extending the lead to 10-3. In the eighth, Kyle Mager, pinch hitting for McKenzie, doubled to center field with two runners aboard, clearing the bases to make it 12-3. Simay added an RBI single later in the inning for the final margin.

Valparaiso’s offense managed only eight hits and never threatened after the first inning. The Beacons put two runners on in the fifth inning but failed to score, and their only other run came in the seventh when Cooper reached on a third-base error, advanced to second, and scored on a fielder’s choice by C. Schembra.

Southern Illinois used five pitchers. Gavan Wernsing earned the win with three and one-third innings of relief, allowing one hit and no earned runs with one strikeout. Charlie Miller pitched two scoreless innings of relief with one strikeout, and Matt Irvine worked a scoreless eighth. Valparaiso used six pitchers; Spencer Boynton struck out three in one inning but allowed one earned run.

Mylott, who went 2 for 4 with a home run and three RBIs, continued a hot stretch. He had three hits in Friday’s 9-4 loss to Valparaiso, two hits in Thursday’s 6-4 win, and two hits with an RBI against SIU Edwardsville earlier in the week. Simay finished 2 for 5 with three RBIs. For Valparaiso, Cooper went 2 for 3 with two RBIs.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Southern Illinois 5, Valparaiso 2. Interstat’s ELO system projected Southern Illinois with a 77.50 percent probability to win.